Romanian court refuses Steinmetz arrest warrant

A Romanian district prosecutor sought the arrest of Beny Steinmetz and two other Israelis in a corruption case.

The court in Romania has dismissed the request for a warrant for the arrest of three Israelis: billionaire Beny Steinmetz, media consultant and businessman Tal Silberstein, and Moshe Agavi, an associate of Steinmetz. This is the second time that a Romanian court has rejected such a request from the district prosecutor. A few months ago, the Supreme Court in Romania dismissed a similar request.

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According to reports in Israel and overseas, the accusations against Steinmetz and the other two men arise from a corruption case, at the center of which was an alleged attempt to gain control of a seven acre farm estimated to be worth millions of euros. They are accused of bribery, fraud and money laundering.

In response to the court decision, Adv Yuval Sasson, counsel for the three men, said, "There is no stain whatever on my clients' business activity. All that there has been is groundless requests repeatedly rejected by the court, and we are certain that the same thing will happen with the main proceedings. The district prosecutor's actions are not consistent with Romanian and international law, and there is not a shred of truth behind them."